Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and Republican challenger Mike Minogue are making their closing arguments to voters ahead of Election Day, with Healey highlighting ways to respond to President Trump’s actions and Minogue seeking to tap into frustration over the state’s high cost of living.
At a get-out-the-vote rally in Lynn on Saturday, Healey told a crowd of about 100 union workers and local officials that her administration has worked to counter Trump's policies on healthcare, vaccines, food, and education. “When Donald Trump does all the things, takes away healthcare, we find a way to cover it,” she said. Healey did not mention Minogue in her speech, instead campaigning as if Trump is on the ballot.
Minogue, who won the GOP primary, held his own rally in Braintree on Sunday, making an economic case against the governor. He called Healey a “lifelong bureaucrat lawyer” and argued that the state's high cost of living is tied to her leadership on electricity, housing, healthcare, and childcare. “Those issues have nothing to do with national politics,” he said. Minogue, who had put $18.3 million of his own money into his campaign at last count, told supporters that when elected nobody would own him and that he was beholden to them, God and his wife.
The state has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan, and President Trump remains deeply unpopular there. Minogue's path to victory is narrow; in 2018, Republican former Governor Charlie Baker fell just a few thousand votes short of winning Boston, while other GOP candidates on the same ballot lost the city by a much larger margin and lost their respective races. Both Healey and Minogue recently swung through Fall River, on the state's South Coast, indicating it is a battleground. Minogue also campaigned in Boston's moderate-leaning North End and more conservative parts of Dorchester.
More than 1 million people have already voted in Massachusetts ahead of Election Day. Democratic insiders widely expect Healey to win, but some question whether she would serve a full second term if a Senate seat opens or a Democrat wins the White House in 2028. A campaign spokesperson for the governor said she will “absolutely fulfill her next term.”
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The outcome will test whether the Democratic strategy of nationalizing local elections can overcome voter discontent over the cost of living, a key dynamic for upcoming races across the country.
- A Healey victory would maintain Democratic control of the state government, while a Minogue upset would provide a major electoral blueprint for Republicans in deeply blue states.
- The record early vote count underscores a permanent structural shift in how Massachusetts conducts its elections.
Background
Massachusetts is a deeply Democratic state that has nevertheless elected Republican governors like Charlie Baker, Bill Weld, and Mitt Romney in recent decades. Maura Healey, a former state attorney general, is seeking her second term. Mike Minogue, a businessman, emerged from a Republican primary where he successfully questioned the conservative credentials of his rivals.
Key Perspectives
Maura Healey: Her campaign has focused on presenting the election as a choice about resisting the Trump administration, emphasizing her record on protecting healthcare access and funding education.
Mike Minogue: He is running on an economic message, arguing that Healey's policies have driven up the cost of living and that he, as an outsider not beholden to party donors, can fix affordability in housing and energy.
What to Watch
- The margin of victory in Boston. If Minogue can keep Healey's margin low in the capital, it could signal a tighter race statewide than polls predict.
- Healey's post-election announcement regarding her future plans; any ambiguity could fuel speculation about a potential run for higher office.
- Whether the heavy early voting masks a strong late Republican push or solidifies a Democratic advantage in turnout.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 10 supported.
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- SupportedHealey and Minogue are making their final pitches in the Massachusetts governor’s race.WBUR News: “Healey, Minogue make their closing arguments in Mass. governor’s race.”
- SupportedHealey is tying Minogue to Trump.WBUR News: “When she has brought up Minogue, it’s often an attempt to tie him to Trump”
- SupportedMinogue is focusing on economic discontent, including frustration over the state’s high cost of living.WBUR News: “he’s primarily made an economic argument to voters, leaning on his business credentials and hoping to tap into frustrations over the state’s high cost of living.”
- SupportedAt the Lynn rally, Healey said, “When Donald Trump does all the things, takes away healthcare, we find a way to cover it.”WBUR News: ““When Donald Trump does all the things, takes away healthcare, we find a way to cover it. When he takes away vaccines, we find a way to provide them,” she told the crowd.”
- Partly supportedThe Lynn rally crowd consisted of about 100 union workers and local officials.WBUR News: “before a crowd of about 100 people, many of them union workers and local elected officials.”
- SupportedHealey did not mention Minogue in her Lynn speech.WBUR News: “She never mentioned the Republican nominee for governor, Mike Minogue.”
- SupportedMinogue called Healey a “lifelong bureaucrat lawyer.”WBUR News: “while calling Healey a “lifelong bureaucrat lawyer.””
- SupportedMinogue said the state’s affordability problems stem from Healey’s leadership on electricity, housing, healthcare and childcare, and said those issues have nothing to do with national politics.WBUR News: ““The problem is a lot of people can't afford it, and it's because of Maura Healey's failed leadership on electricity, on housing, on healthcare, and on childcare,” he said. “And those issues have nothing to do with national politics.””
- SupportedMinogue had put $18.3 million of his own money into his campaign at last count.WBUR News: “Minogue also acknowledged the millions of his own dollars — $18.3 million at last count — that he’s plunged into his campaign.”
- SupportedMore than 1 million people had voted in Massachusetts before Election Day.WBUR News: “more than 1 million people have already voted in Massachusetts ahead of polls opening Tuesday.”
- Partly supportedDemocratic insiders widely expect Healey to win.WBUR News: “On the Democratic side, insiders don't question whether Healey will win.”
- SupportedA campaign spokesperson said Healey will “absolutely fulfill her next term.”WBUR News: ““[T]he Governor will absolutely fulfill her next term,” a campaign spokesperson later said via text message.”